INTRODUCTION.
The family name "Yale" originated in Wales and was formerly spelled "Ial" and "Yal" and comes from the commote, hundred, or district of Yale, in Powys Fadog, Wales. The district of Yale, together with the adjoining district of Bromfield on the west, have formed since the end of the thirteenth century, a lordship, known as the lordship of Bromfield and Yale. Both Bromfield and Yale are in the county of Denbigh.
The district of Yale is an upland plain bounded on all sides by hills and contains the old parishes of Llandysiles yn Yale, Bryn Eglwys, Llanarmon yn Yale, Llandeg-la yn Yale and Llanrones. Each parish, except the last named, being divided into townships.
The ancient Yales were descended from Osborn Fitz Gerald (0sbwrn Wyddel), of the country of Merioneth, Wales; and one of his descendants, Ellis ap Griffith, married Margaret, the heiress of Plas yn Yale, in the lordship of Bromfield and Yale; and in this way the estate of Plas yn Yale came into the family, and the descendants of Ellis and Margaret later on definitely adopted the name Yale as a family surname; and with the exception of the Lloyds of Bodidris, with whom they were con¬nected, were the most important family in Yale. Thus it will be seen that the name of Yale, as well as the estate of Plas yn Yale, were derived from the maternal side of the house. Dr. Thomas Yale, who died in 1577 and who was Chancellor of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury and grandson of Ellis ap. Griffith and his wife Margaret, was the first to definitely assume the surname of Yale; and his nephews, Thomas Yale and Dr. David Yale (Dr. David Lloyd), who were respectively the ancestors of the Yales of Plas yn Yale and of Plas Grono, continued the name.
Surnames in Wales did not pass from father to son, in the way to which we are now accustomed, until the latter part of the sixteenth century, and the practice was not definitely settled for a long time afterwards. Sons usually had for a surname, the given name of the father; however they often assumed names derived from estates, castles, towns or districts; and as we have previously noted, the family name "Yale" was derived from the name of the district of Yale, in the lordship of Bromfield and Yale.
The Yales, although natives of Wales, were of Italian and Norman, as well as British blood. There seems however to be no evidence of Saxon stock in the ancestry.
The first ancestor recorded in the pedigree, in the direct male line, is Dominus Otho, a nobleman from Florence Italy (a Florentine); but he was not the only ancestor of Italian blood, as Cuneda, the head of the long line of British kings and princes, from whom the Yales are descended on the maternal side of the house, was no doubt partly of Roman parentage.
The predominant strain in this ancient ancestry was however undoubtedly British (Brythonic), as the maternal ancestors were nearly all , if not all, Welsh (British), except Alice de Montgomery, through whom came the connection with the Normans.
As regards the personality and rank of these early ancestors, it can be properly stated that their political and social standing was on an equality with the great nobles and the rulers, of the times. There are but few, if any, families among the nobility of any land, that can point to a more honorable and noble lineage, than that of the Yales; descended as they are from the ancient kings and princes of Britain and from the greatest of all the Norman lords, Roger de Montgomery, (who was of the same family as William the Conqueror), as well as from Maurice Fitz Gerald, the commander of the first expedition in the Norman conquest of Ireland.
The antiquity of the Yale pedigree is equally eminent, dating back as it does, in the direct male line, to Dominus Otho, the Florentine noble, who came to England in 1057, nine years before the Norman conquest; and on the maternal side to Cuneda, the first ruler of the Cymric nation, about the year 415 A. D. But few noble, or in fact Royal families, can claim greater antiquity.
The pedigree presented herein will make clear, the connections referred to, and it will be noted that the Yales are connected with the House of Cuneda and the succeeding Kings and Princes, through three distinct maternal lines. One of these maternal ancestors being, Lowrie, daughter of Tudor Glyndwr (Tudor ap Griffith Vychan), and niece of the memorable Owen Glyndwr. Her great grandfather, Thomas ap Llewelyn, as will be noted, was also the ancestor of the five Tudor Kings and Queens of England, and the present King Edward VII, as well.
Her grandfather Griffith Vychan, was descended also from the Kings and Princes of Wales and the Princes of Powys Fadog, who lived at Castle Dinas Bran.
Another one of the three Welsh princesses referred to in the preceding paragraph was Nesta, the "Helen of Wales," who was not only great in herself and in her ancestry, but great in her posterity as well.
The third maternal ancestor referred to was, Gladys, daughter of the Prince of North Wales.
In referring to the pedigree and history of Wales, it will be seen that the ancestors of the Yales, among the Kings and Princes of Britain and Wales, were mainly the sovereign rulers. Attention is called to this fact, as there were many under kings and princes of minor importance, who ruled over smaller territories, which were parts of the whole and subject to the sovereign king or prince.
In writing the foregoing particulars relative to the ancient ancestry of the Yales, I am sensibly aware of the prevalent practice among writers of works of this class, to endeavor to connect the family lineage with some noted historical character, whether justified in so doing by authentic records or not, and I realize that many are disposed to scoff at such claims; however I can do no less than follow the indisputable authorities bearing on the origin of the Yales and their ancestry and feel a sufficient justification in presenting the matter set forth, in the absolute knowledge that it is amply substantiated by competent and reliable records.
Ancient Pedigrees of early British Kings and Princes.
THE HOUSE OF CtiNEDA.Brythonic and Goidelic.
From ANNALES CAMBRIAE.
Owen map. iguel. map. Cein.
map. catell. map. Guorcein
map. Rotri. map. doli.
map. mermin. map. Guordoli.
map. etthil map. Duran.
merch. cinnan. map. Gurdumn
map. rotri. map. Amguoloyt
map. Iutgual. map. Aeguerit.
map. Catgualart. map. Oumun
map. Catgollaun. map. Dubun.
map. Cat man. map. Brithguein.
map. Jacob. map. Eugein.
map. Bell. map. Aballac.
map. Run. map. Amalech qui
map. Mailcun. fuit, beli magni
map. Catgolaun. flies et anna
Iauhir. mater ejus.
map. Eniaun girt. quanz dicunt esse
map. Cuneda. [conso
map. , Ætern. Brina MARLE
map. Patern pefrut uirginis matris
map. Tacit. d'ni n'ri ih'u xp'i.
The foregoing is the pedigree of A 20 Owain ab Howel, son of Howel Da, and as will be noted, carries his genealogy back a very long time: in fact to Beli et Anna, and the same persons who are the first in pedigree.(X)
OTHER KINGS AND PRINCES.
Probably Goidelic.
(X) From "ANXALES CAMBRIAE"
[M]orcant. map. Vrb.
map. Coledauc. an.
map. Morcant. map. Grat.
bulc. map. lumetel
map. Cincar.
braut. map. Ritigirn
map. Branhen.
map. Dumngual. map. Oudecant.
moilmut.
map. Garhani map Outigir.
aun.
map. Coyl hen. map. Ebiud.
Guotepakuc. map. Eudof.
(Godebog) map. Eudelen.
map. Tec ma nt. map. Aballac.
. map. Beli of anna.
map. Teuhant.
map. Telpuil.
The above is a very ancient compilation and probably is a list of Goidelic Kings and Princes from Beli et Anna, to times contemporary with Cuneda and his more immediate descendants. It will be noted that Coyl hen ,(Coel Hen) (or Coel Godebog), the father of Cuneda's wife, has a place here. Dyfnwal Moel¬mud (Dumngual Moilmut) the Cymric law maker, before the time of Howel Da, is also named in the pedigree.
Other authorities state that Coel Hen (Coel Godebog) was a King of Britain.
These pedigrees are of genuinely very ancient origin and in the opinion of eminent authorities, there is no reason at all to doubt their authenticity. Anna, the earliest of the line, is said to have been daughter of the Emperor of Rome. It is quite likely that the earlier portions of these pedigrees, however, are founded, at least partly, on tradition. "Map" means "son of."
These pedigrees are presented verbatim, as examples of the character of such documents, from Cymric sources.